Molluscs

Molluscs Latest News

Recently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has announced that over half of molluscs are threatened by deep-sea mining. 

About Molluscs

• Molluscs are extremely diverse invertebrate animals.
• Habitat: They are found in nearly all freshwater and marine environments, and some are found also on land. 
• They come in all shapes and sizes, and some of them grow external shells to protect their soft bodies.
• These are a quarter of all living marine species and also have importance as food sources.
• The molluscs include many familiar animals, including clams, snails, slugs, and squid, as well as some less familiar animals, like tusk shells and chitons.
• Major groups within the Mollusca:
  • Polyplacophora: It consists of chitons, snail-like molluscs with eight-part overlapping scale shells
  • Gastropoda: These are true snails and slugs. They represent the most diverse class within phylum Mollusca with 60,000 to 80,000 extant species in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats.
  • Bivalvia: These are molluscs with hinged two-part shells. Examples include clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops.
  • Cephalopoda: These are molluscs with large heads, large eyes, and grasping tentacles
  • Examples include octopus, squid, cuttlefish, and nautiloids.

Source: DTE

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